Wot I Think: Railway Empire

For years, the people of Baltimore had to content themselves with the long, winding route through New York, Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo to get themselves to the fabled city of Pittsburgh, where steel grew on trees. But in 1834, the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Company, my company, finally had the funds to embark on an audacious project: a really big tunnel. Broadly covering the first century of North American railway expansion, Railway Empire is a battle against geography. Huge mountain ranges and serpentine rivers ensure that flat ground is highly coveted, but if you’ve got enough cash in your bank account, then even the Alleghenies can be conquered. Instead of heading north through the cluttered web of routes, signals and side tracks to New York, this new line headed west, a tricky path following a meandering waterway, until it hit the mountains. Going further west means going through those mountains, but that wasn’t possible. Going over them was nearly as unlikely, as the steep incline would make it hard for even the most advanced locomotives of the era to make much headway. Hence, a tunnel. That one tunnel cost about the same amount as my entire rail network, but with it, Baltimore and Pittsburgh had a direct link, and quickly the money started to flow. At least it did after I spent 15 minutes tweaking it, trying to reduce the incline and thus ensure the trains passing through maintained a consistent speed. Constant tweaking is the greatest weapon in the… [Read full story]